| Maci Thornton scored a career-high 27 points including a game-tying three-pointer with less than a minute to play at No. 20 Gettysburg. File photo by Messiah athletics |
Tuesday night was a good night for the Ducks (Stevens), Cardinals (Plattsburgh State), Eagles (Eastern) and Falcons (Messiah).
No. 11 Messiah used a big fourth quarter to rally past No. 19 Gettysburg 74-69 and spoil the Bullets' regular season opener. Gettysburg (0-1) led 50-44 at the end of three periods as four of the starters scored double figures. The Falcons (2-1) tied the game at 68 with 52 seconds left on Maci Thornton's three-pointer and then took the lead on their next possession when Alecia Rohrer scored off an offensive rebound. Thornton added four free throws in the final 10 seconds giving her 27 points and Messiah the victory.
Rochester ended Rochester Tech's season in the NCAA Tournament in March, but the Tigers flipped the script in Rochester's opener on Tuesday night. The Tigers (1-1) built a 19-point lead in the quarter and defeated the Yellowjackets 70-59. Brooke Stanley scored 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting and the Tigers outscored the Yellowjackets 44-24 in the paint.
Regie Robinson posted 25 points and 25 rebounds and Eastern defeated Cabrini 69-55 in the Battle of Eagle Road. After narrowly avoiding a loss to St. Elizabeth in its opener, FDU-Florham lost at Rutgers-Newark 60-47. The two teams will meet again at FDU-Florham this weekend.
On the men's side Stevens rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat No. 16 New Jersey City 76-72. Spencer Cook scored 20 of his team-high 26 points in the second half for the Ducks (1-0) who defeated the Gothic Knights for the first time since a 21-19 victory in 1934.
No. 12 UW-Stevens Point made a few more three pointers in a game where neither team made very many shots and the Pointers slogged past No. 24 St. Olaf 54-41. Nate Dodge scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Stevens Point.
No. 7 Springfield lost All-American Jake Ross to an injury and fell behind Keene State by six at the half but recovered to beat the Owls, 89-81. Ty Nichols scored 26 points for Keene State (1-1) while Heath Post tallied 23 points and eight rebounds for the Pride (2-0).
No. 14 Plattsburgh State opens the season with back-to-back games against Liberty League members Clarkson and Skidmore. The Cardinals won the first of those games on Tuesday night, beating Clarkson 105-95. and No. 24 UW-Whitewater shot 9-for-18 from behind the arc in its season-opening win at Anderson, 98-82.